Tentering cloth



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PARLEY G. GREEN AND WARREN SHAW, OF WALES, MASSACHUSETTS.

TENTERING CLOTH.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,141,.dated June 20, 1854:.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, PARLRY Gr.' GREEN and WARREN SHAW, of l/Vales, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Machine n for Drying and Tentering Cloth; and we j do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference j being had to the accompanying drawings,

making part of this specification, Figure l being a longitudinal vertical section of the machine through the center; Fig. 2, an end elevation thereof, the endless `revolving tenter-frame being removed; Fig. 3, a horizontal section of the same in the line a' m of Fig. l; Fig. l, a horizontal section in the line y of Fig. 1, and Figs. 5, 6, and 7 views of which condition it is delivered to the tentern points of the drying apparatus, to be retained thus till dried `and received by the folding apparatus, substantially as hereinafter fully specified.

The cloth to be 'stretched and dried, is first wound upon a roller H, which is mounted in a sliding frame S, at one end of the machine. Said roller is coupled, at one end,-`

to the axis of a small tightening wheel c,

by any convenient form of clutch, such as the square shank and socket representedat Z1; and at the other end fits andurevolves in a sliding plumber-block a, which is provided with a spring a, to hold it to the roller, but to enable it also to yield and allow the insertion or removal of the rollers. The tightening wheel e,is for the purpose of regulating the delivery of the cloth from the roller; which it accomplishes by the tightener d, being pressed and held against its periphery by means of the lever e, and ratch f, with such a degree of force as to produce the requisite tension of the cloth. The cloth is adjusted laterally to the right position for passing through the machine by sliding the frame S, one way or the other `across the frame A, of the machine, with .the lever g, as represented. From the roller Hl, the cloth first passes up over a roller` P; thence down around theperipheries 'of the tenter-wheels, Gr, G, by which it is properly stretched and straightened; then, having` been delivered upon the tenter-points ofthe endless revolving drying frame B, it is conveyed thereon in the different directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. l, till itis received between two rollers E, and F, to be finally folded by the folding apparatus I. The whole course of the cloth is indicated by the red line in Fig. l, the operations of tentering and dryingV being `performed during said coursesubstantially in the Amanner below set forth. l

The tenter-wheels Gr, G, are mounted in hangers Q, Q, which are secured in slots in the frame above, by nuts 7L, 71., screwed upon their Shanks; whereby the wheels are adjusted at any distance apart,and also at any angle horizontally, according to the degree f of` Obliquity to be given to their positions. Each `wheel is composed of a disk, of suitable size, on one side of which is situated, radially, a series of tenter hooks, or points, j, y', jointed at their inner ends thereto,while their outer ends are allowed to play laterally in slots Z, Z, &c., in the periphery of the disk. Said slots may be parallel with the aXis of the wheel, or, better, at a slight angle thereto, in the manner represented in Figs. 2, and 4., in order that the tenter-points may be `moved inward with less resistance, by the action of the guide vl, presently to be described. A plate m, is secured to the inner face of each disk and limits the lateral play of the tenter-points in that direction; while they are retained in place at the outer face of the disk by the ring a, or by any convenient means.

The construction of the tenter-wheels', is

distinctly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In front of each of these wheels is suspended from the hanger frame Q, on an adjustable pivot 0, the guide z', curved so as to `conform to the periphery of the wheel, before which it hangs free to oscillate laterally, and eX- tendsrdown to the track of the cloth in its passage from the roller P, to the under side of said tenter-wheel, as represented in` them, but narrowing downward till at the bottom it is barely wide enough to allow said points to pass out. Atv the bottom of the outer edge of the guide, it is bent forward at nearly right angles, so as to form a wing lr, in the manner represented, at the j same distance from the slot of the guide as it is-desired to insert the tenter-points j, j, in the cloth4 from the edge thereof. ,The

cloth, while passing from the roller P,

which is situated at a suiicientheight for the purpose, engages said guides, so that its edges graze the wings c, 7;, thereof. The guides are so adjusted that the cloth will force them a little out of their vertical position, in order that by their owny oscillations they may conform to the irregularities of the selvage of the cloth and thus keep constantly in contact there- V with. Therefore, since the tenter-points y', j,

as they come around upon their wheels, are all brought to the same distance from the .wings lc, 7c, when they reach the bottoms of the slots of the guides, at which moment they enter the cloth, they will necessarily all be inserted therein at a uniform distance from the selvages thereof.

2 and 4,) so that their rear edges shall be farther apart than their front edges, the difference depending upon the amount ofv stretch required to be given to the cloth. Consequently, as the cloth passes round under the peripheries of said wheels, their tenter-points, after coming in contact with the inner plates m, m, thereof, continually become more and more separat-ed and thereby stretch the cloth more and more till it,

is delivered from them upon the tenterpoints'k 20, 79, &c., of the endless revolving,

drying frame B. Since said tenter-points p, p, &c., receive the cloth just at the Inoment of its quitting the tenter-points y', j,

they will evidentlyv enter therein also at a uniform distance from its selvedges; and, proceeding thence in laterally straight lines, must of necessity bring and retain the cloth perfectly straight and uniform in breadth. The endless revolving drying frame B,

The tenter wheels are adjusted obliquely to the direcvtion of the cloth, (as represented `in Figs.

is composed of a series of cross slats, or bars, g, g, &c., secured near their ends respectively to two endless chains r, 1". Each slat has two tenter-po-ints p, p, at a suitable distance apart, and between them may be hollowed out alittle on the same side, to prevent the cloth from coming in contact except at its edges. The endless chains pass around several pairs of rag-wheels C, C, Sac., as represented, one pair of which is secured to the driving shaft N. A band z, passing from' a pulley O, on said driving shaft, to the shaft of another pair of said rag-wheels, is represented in the drawings; and other bands may, if desired, be employed for communicating power directly to othersets of rag-wheels. Whenever the endless frame doubles inwardly, so as to bring t-he cloth on the inside of its fold, it will be necessary to put a roller D, on the shaft of, and of the same diameter as, the wheels J, J, around which the endless chains pass, for the purpose of keeping the cloth in place. The endless frame should be long enough to expose the cloth a suiiicient length of time to dry before reaching the rollers E, F, which thereupon receive and deliver it to the folding apparatus. One of said rollers E, is provided with a pinion t, into which a cog-wheel s, on the driving shaft N, engages. The other roller F, is mounted on springs u, u, by which it is kept pressed against the other roller and thus holds the cloth true and smooth.

The folding appartus consists simply of a table I, with upright frames or sides, as represented; to which a reciprocating motion is given (upon ways T, T,) equal in extent to the required breadth of the folds. The velocity of its mo-tion should be the same as that of the cloth, which, as it comes through the rollers E, F, will consequently fall thereon in regular folds of uniform breadth, and perfectly even and true. The reci rocating motion may be given tothefolc er I, by means of a pitman R, and crank M, driven by a band w, passing from a pulley on the driving shaft N, to a pulley K, whose shaft is coupled to, or uncoupled from, the shaft of said crank, by any convenient form of clutch L, to be operated by a lever o, in the manner represented in the drawings.

Having thus fully described our improved machine for drying and tentering cloth, what we claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The adjustable, obliquely situated tenter- Wheels GQ'G, provided With laterally play-` ing tenter-points 7'5 y', in combination With the oscillating guides i, z', arranged and operating in such a manner as to seize the cloth and stretch it uniformly, at the same time bringing its edges refectly even and` straight, in Which con ition itis delivered improved machine for drying andtentering cloth signed and witnessed this 11th day of April, 1854.

PARLEY G. GREEN. WARREN sIIAW.

Witnesses as to Parley G. Green:

FERDINAND L. `BURLEY,

y CALVIN SHAW.

Witnesses as t0 Warren `ShaW WILLIAM DODGE, ELIJAH VALENTINE. 

